Morning Splendor
by CookieCrumbz
Summary: A simple story of early morning exchanges and sweet gestures between a married Ulrich and Yumi.


He has never been a morning person.

Even when he was a young child, his older siblings would literally have to threaten calling in the big guns – their father – to coax him up on a school day. During his teen years at Kadic, he got a bit better at getting up with his alarm – absolutely necessary since if he didn't he and Odd would have most likely slept through the first two classes of the day – but it took the threat of X.A.N.A. to get him out of bed before eleven on his days off. College gave him the liberty to sleep in most of the time, what with being able to pick his own course schedule, but life nowadays was a very delicate balancing act. Nowadays he worked as the secretary at a locale middle school while still pursuing a degree to be a school counselor. The job offered him a little over twelve dollars and hour and he only had to work ten months of the year, so he couldn't really complain about it.

Yumi, however, was always an early riser.

Always having impeccable good luck, Ulrich had settled down with a morning girl. Yumi had always been a stickler for punctuality and rarely ever hit the snooze button even once. Despite her preferences for darker, more subdued colors in her wardrobe, Yumi was a young woman who enjoyed life. She liked being up early because she felt it gave her more time in the day to accomplish what she wanted to; whether it be actual work or just things for her own entertainment. On top of that, when Yumi Ishiyama was up, she was up; and God spare you if you tried to ignore her wake-up calls. Over the years she had learned to appreciate the occasional lazy day. Given her career as a paralegal – while making plans to attend law school in the near future - learning to relax and let her hair down a little more became therapeutic in a way. She did, however, still prefer her own system of getting up at an early hour to start her day as quickly as possible.

As such, it made Ulrich's current scheme feel a bit like Mission Impossible.

The duo were enjoying their four year wedding anniversary and, as such, had decided they spend two weeks on vacation; the last two weeks before Yumi had agreed to return to her job, actually. They had also decided that, since they usually spent the holidays with Yumi's family in Japan, that they would fly out to Rothenburg, Germany to stay with his older brother and let Yumi visit with some of his extended family for a change. On top of that, it seemed fitting they shake up their routine for their first real family vacation. As such, Ulrich wanted to treat Yumi to the surprise of a homemade breakfast before they had to get everything packed up in the car and head to catch their eleven o'clock flight.

It had been tricky, slipping his ear buds in without Yumi seeing the night before, but he'd managed. He had set his alarm for six thirty – at least he got an extra thirty minutes, as opposed to the normal week – and used the ear buds to assure only he would hear the blaring sirens call. He groaned, biting back a swear, and smacked at the snooze button on his phone harder than anticipated. It toppled off the bedside table and clattered loudly to the floor, smacking against the porcelain trash can next to the bed on its way. His heart caught in his throat and he slowly peered over his shoulder.

Yumi had always been a light sleeper.

Luckily, she only shifted slightly, pulling the comforter more snuggly over her shoulders, and let out a contented sigh before her breathing leveled back out again. Ulrich leaned down, scooping up his cell phone and turning the alarm completely off, before he heard quiet whimpering. He sat up and turned to face the baby monitor set up on the bedside table nearest Yumi.

Of course their daughter had picked up on her mother's sleeping preferences as opposed to his.

He returned his phone to the table, along with the ear buds, and scrubbed his face quickly with his hands, hoping to wipe off the remnants of sleeps. He then slipped out carefully, making sure to keep his footsteps quiet, and hurried out of the room. He then slipped to the nursery across the hall, the whimpering growing more persistent and a bit louder at the soft squeak of the door being opened. Regardless of the day, Yumi was usually up no later than seven o'clock and, as such, was usually the one to rouse their baby on the weekends – the two of them taking turns in preparing her during the actual work week.

Ulrich was grateful for it, though. Despite her only being almost four months, it was already clear that little Sayuri was her mother's daughter. Not only did she take after Yumi in appearance, there was something about the way she would make an almost grumpy coo if her favorite stuffed bear was taken away that triggered flashbacks to her mother's furrowed brow and scowl from when they were teenagers. She was a relatively agreeable baby, too, which certainly made the transition into parenthood easier for the young couple.

He peered over the crib at her, grinning at the excited squeal she released when she saw him. He reached over to the baby monitor hooked to the side of the crib and turned it off, wanting to make sure Yumi didn't wake up from Sayuri's morning noises. He then reached down, carefully plucking the tiny tot from her crib. "Good morning, baby girl," He mused, kissing the top of her little head before tugging her little yellow bedtime hat more snuggly around her little head. After settling Sayuri in his arm, keeping her carefully perched against his shoulder for added support. He then fished her favorite stuffed animal – a polar bear dressed in a vest and tie, gifted to her from Uncle Hiroki – and presented it to her. She squealed eagerly and clutched it to her. She looked up at him and garbled out something. "It's just too hard to start the day without Baron Polaris by your side, isn't it?" He asked with a chuckle.

She let out another excited noise as if to agree before he headed to the kitchen.

Ulrich knew that she was usually fed early in the morning, but they had yet to start weaning her onto bottles – a goal they had settled on trying to start over the next two weeks – and he was clearly not his wife. However, Yumi was usually down in the kitchen with Sayuri about twenty minutes before him when it was her turn to ready their little girl for the day, and it was usually after he was down to eat that she'd start feeding her. He had never been particularly good at math but he figured he should be able to have their breakfast almost done – if not completely set up, like he hoped – before she came out. He started by getting Sayuri settled in her high chair in the small dining room area, making sure it was secure and that both she and the Baron were comfy.

He then headed back into the physical kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a package of bacon, eggs, whip cream, strawberries and a small container of milk. He had bought some pancake batter when he first decided he was going to go through with the little surprise, specifically because he knew Yumi had a soft spot for the fluffy breakfast food with fresh fruit on top. And, wanting to pull out all the stops to impress his lovely wife, he'd even gone ahead and gotten her favorite fruit to go with.

He started mixing together the batter while chatting lightly with his babbling baby the whole time.

Yumi stirred from under the covers, cracking her eyes to stare at the little baby monitor on her bedside table. Usually she would be hearing Sayuri's fussy coos by this time in the morning, wanting some attention from either of her parents. She then turned around, noticing the empty space on the bed where Ulrich usually was and the headphones plugged into his cell phone. "What in the world?" She mumbled with a small yawn. She then smoothed out a few strands of hair and slipped out of the bed to investigate.

Just to be sure, she headed into the nursery and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place but her little girl was not in her crib and the monitor was shut off. "What is Ulrich up to this morning?" She asked aloud before turning and heading out back to the hallway. She could hear noises coming from the kitchen, sounding like muffled talking and the clanging of dishes, and what smelt like cooking meat. She decided to venture out and see what the ruckus was.

Sayuri had started making her grumpy, hungry noises and Ulrich gently picked her out of her high chair. "Shh, sweetheart, Mommy's still sleeping," He cooed softly, gently rubbing her back. She let out a protesting squeak, a loud whine following after it. He held her up above his head and started making noises and funny faces, anything to try and settle her down. When that didn't help at all, he held her close again and tried rocking her, making quiet promises to her while turning around to come face to face with Yumi's amused grin. His cheeks turned a touch pink and he let out a nervous laugh. "Good morning."

Seeing her father's attention had waned, Sayuri followed his gaze with her dark eyes and immediately squealed when she saw her mother. "Good morning to you too. I'm not used to seeing you up before ten on a Saturday without me beating you out of bed," Yumi hummed, walking over and gently taking Sayuri from him. She grinned and started giving her precious baby eskimo kisses, her grin widening at the happy gurgles she received. "Oh, how am I supposed to go back to work when I've got this little angel to dote on? Mommy doesn't want to have to be away from her little baby!" She hummed, settling into a chair at the table and settling Sayuri in her arms.

Ulrich smiled and headed back into the kitchen while Yumi reclined slightly in her chair and set to feeding Sayuri, whom had started whining again when she decided she was tired of just getting cuddled. "I talked to the headmaster about the daycare at the school, by the way," He stated calmly while shifting some cooked bacon to a plate, being careful not to burn himself with the popping grease.

"Oh?" She hummed, clearly distracted with watching after Sayuri. They had learned early on that if they didn't give her breaks during her feeding to burp her, the little infant would end up being terribly gassy later.

"Yeah. As long as we can get Sayuri switched to bottles and formula then they should be fine to watch after her while we're at work. Plus the daycare is on campus so if anything happens I'll be right there," He said calmly.

"What do you mean by that?" Yumi asked with a tinge of suspicion to her tone. Yumi was a very protective mother bear; specifically after an incident with Odd had left their little girl with a small bump on her head three weeks ago.

"Nothing serious, Yumi," He said gently while walking over with the small platter of bacon, "just in case she has a fever or something like that."

"Right," She sighed while gently taking their daughter's hand between two fingers, her thumb lightly stroking the top of her hand. He could tell something was bothering her but he wasn't sure if she'd want to share. "I just… I don't know…"

"You can tell me, you know," He chuckled lightly, leaning over and kissing her forehead. She smiled up at him while he headed to go finish fixing their pancakes.

"I just worry that I'm going back to work too soon, you know?" She asked, peering at him slightly over her shoulder before turning back to Sayuri. She careful extracted her from her breast and started gently patting her back to help any gas in her come out. She grinned a bit at the little 'urp' their daughter released. "I mean, I really do love my job, but I still worry that if I go back too soon Sayuri won't… I just don't want her to feel distant from me."

Ulrich blinked a bit as he shook the can of whip cream, peering over at Yumi over his shoulder. They had talked a lot back when they started getting serious in their relationship – specifically when they hit the three year mark and during their engagement – about what they would want if they ended up together with a family. Yumi had been adamant against the idea of being a stay at home mother like her own had been. While Yumi and her mother were not at odds or bitter toward one another, there was a part of the Japanese young girl that thought a lot of her parent's woes when she was younger could have been avoided. A lot of the fights had been about money, and Akiko Ishiyama had made it very clear that she believed her time was best spent tending to the home and children. Yumi had always been a bit angry, viewing her mother's refusal to help them gain more income as an act of selfishness, but she knew better than to let those feelings spoil her relationship with the older woman.

But it seemed now, holding her own daughter in her arms, Yumi could perhaps relate to what her mother felt back then.

"If you want to take more time off, I'm sure Mr. Becker won't mind," Ulrich said before carefully spreading some whip cream along the top of the small stack of pancakes he had prepared for Yumi. He then placed a few strawberries on, grabbed the bottle of syrup and some silverware, and headed over to the table. "You're one of the best employees he's got and he seemed a little worried that you wanted to come back so soon anyway. If you want, wait out the vacation and if you still don't feel ready, then talk to him about getting a few extra weeks added to your maternity leave. We've got enough money saved up that we can coast on my checks for a little while longer." He said while setting the plate in front of her. She looked up at him while resituating herself in her nightgown since it seemed that Sayuri was full up.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to stress about the finances," She protested softly.

"I assure you that we'll be fine, Yumi," He chuckled while kissing her forehead again. Yumi made a good five dollars more an hour than him, and she had always tended to get overtime when she was still at work, so he knew they'd be fine. They had been saving money separately since before their wedding and only combined their bank accounts once Yumi found out she was pregnant; they were already taking one big step before they'd planned, so they figured it wouldn't do them any further harm. The medical bills for Yumi's prenatal care and the actual day of labor had been steep, and taken quite a hefty sum of what they'd saved up, but it wasn't as if Ulrich wasn't still working. On top of that, their two bed-two bath apartment was a reasonable price and their other bills were usually pretty meager. "Now eat up, We'll need to start packing everything up right after we eat to make sure the place is ready for when Hiroki and Millie get here." He then headed to go get his own plate and a glass of juice for each of them.

Yumi settled Sayuri back in her high chair, pulling the seat closer to herself just in case. "When did you get so smart?" She called over her shoulder lightly.

"I am much like a dog, my dear; I have simply been well-trained through years of experience," He hummed back teasingly.

Yumi laughed lightly and drizzled some syrup on her pancakes, thanking him when he set a glass of juice in front of her. "I love you," She said gently, smiling at him over the rim of her glass as he settled in across from her.

She always loved being the one to say it first, just like she had been years ago when they were teenagers. She loved it specifically because of how Ulrich's eyes would light up. They'd get a bit wider and the green hue to them would seem somehow deeper but also bright, if that made a lick of sense, and then one of his boyish grins would warm its way on his lips. "I love you too," He mused back, the sincerity and warmth in his tone enough to make the tips of her ears tingle from a mix of glee and embarrassment.


End file.
